THE

Battle of Pell's Point

(

OR PELHAM

OCTOBER

8,

177b.

25ring tbc S>totp of a stubborn

iFtfffit.

WITH A MAP, AND ILLUSTRATIONS FROM

ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS AND

FAMILY PORTRAITS.

BY

WILLIAM ABBATT,
Author of The
Crisis of the Revolution.

NEW YORK: WILLIAM ABBATT.

281 Fourth Ave.,
1901.

THE LI1RARV OF
CONGRESS,
Two Curies DEC. 4
Received

1901

COPVRIGWT eWTSV I '. I T- 10/ O. XXo. no.

CLASS

a- / 1-

7 -r
J.

COPY

Copyright, 1901, by

William Abbatt.

'

Map

of

theTownsof
.

WESTCHESTER EAST CHESTER AND PELHAM N

to illustrate

Y.

THE BATTLE or PELL'S

1

POINT(PELHAM)

October 18V 1776

THE BATTLE OF PELLS POINT PELHAM.

Twenty copies on Large Paper, of which

this is

No

preface.
two regiments of the and Seventeenth Lancers it is stated that they were engaged in the battle of " Pelham Moor." Yet though this encounter is thus thought worthy of mention side by side with Waterloo and others of world-renown, few of our own histories contain any details of it, and one of
IN the
official

record of services of

British

Army

the Sixteenth

the most popular gives

serious errors.

it

only three

lines, in

which

are

two

Examination of all the authorities and personal familiarity with the scene and the topography of lower Westchester County, leads me to consider it one of the most important
Revolution. The only which it deserves is one to and whose services to American history are too well-known to need extended mention the late Henry B. Dawson, of Morrisania, N. Y. But his interesting and valuable "Westchester County during the Revolution " (down to November, 1776) was published fifteen years ago, in a very small edition, and hence is
conflicts

of the earlier part of the

the rank

author

who gives it whom am indebted,

I

not as widely

known

as

it

my own

story of the battle,

should be. In the preparation of have been fortunate in receiving

I

valuable assistance from several gentlemen,

residents of the

now
Mr.

or formerly

town

of Pelham;
(of

among them Rev.

C.

W.

Bolton, H. D. Carey, Esq.

throp,

City Island).

now

of

H.

S.

Rapelye, of

White Haven, Pa., Rev. Mount Vernon.

of the photographs

W.

S.

M. G. LaCoffey and Mr.

of

To my
York,
1

friends E. S.

Bennett and Z. T. Benson,

New
to

owe most

which add so much

the narrative.
that of Colonel

The

portrait of Colonel
Jr.,

Glover

is

kindly fur-

nished by Mr. S. Roads,

the historian of Marblehead, and

The

portrait of Colonel
in

Shepard by Mr. A. N. Shepard, of Denver. Shepard is from the original by

Battle of Trenton, at Yale

Trumbull,
College.

his painting of the

That of Private Russell is furnished by Colonel Eckford Moore, Secretary of the Trenton Battle Monument Association. Russell was at the capture of Trenton and also at Pell's Point, and the face is copied from a portrait of him

made

in France a few years after the Revolution. It is almost unique as a contemporary portrait of a private soldier of the

Revolution.

The map
to

is

from a

late

survey, and

is

carefully

redrawn

show

all

the points of interest.

I

the

As the first full and illustrated account of the battle, book may be found a not unworthy contribution story of the Revolution, and particularly to the part of nected with the County of Westchester.

trust

to
it

the

conA.

W.
West
Chester, N. Y.
iqoi.

List of Iillustrnrions.

Frontispiece
1.

Glover's Rock,

2.

" "

"
"

East from,

3.

West from,

4.

Portrait of Colonel Shepard,

5.

Statue of John Russell,

Portrait of

6.

Colonel Baldwin,

7.

The
"
Split

Split

Rock Road
'

8.

9.

Rock,

10.

Wolf's Lane,
Pell's

11.

Bridge

over the Hutchinson,

12.

St

Paul's Church, East Chester,

...... ..... ..... ..... ..... ....... .....

Portrait of General

TAGE

John Glover.

.12
14
15

16

Entrance

to,

17

On,
.

18

19

20

.21
22

Mai' oe Battle

Ground.

the

Autumn
his

of 1776, Washington, at a loss to

British

fathom the plans of the

with
in

commander, and
of Harlem

army only
by
16),

partly restored to confidence

itself

the

successful

action

Heights
greater

(September
part

was

gradually

withdrawing the
to

of

it

from
of

New
draught

York City
horses the

Westchester

County.

For

lack

progress

necessarily slow, and as the artillery and the

was camp wagons

in

had to be guarded on the way, the troops were strung out

a

long

line,

affording an excellent opportunity for successful

attack on the part of a vigilant

enemy

which, happily, General

Howe was

not.

Leaving about two thousand men, under Lord

Percy, on Manhattan Island, the British

commander embarked

the rest of his

army

for

Throgg's Neck, about thirteen miles

up Long

Island Sound, probably hoping to get in the rear of

the patriots, force

them
fires.

to retreat

on Harlem, and thus place

twelfth he landed on

them between two

On October

the Neck, but his attempt to cross by the causeway

still

ex-

istingto the west shore of

the troops under
six days.

West Chester Creek was

Prescott,

foiled

by

Hand and

and he remained

idle for

On

the eighteenth, at one o'clock in the morning, he again

to Pell's Point, in the

embarked, 1 and crossed

1

town ofPelham,

embarked was not the whole army Knyphausen, with most of the Hessians followed a few days after. It was made up of the Light and Grenadier companies of the British regiments,

The

force

and part if not all the Gerr , an Chasseurs, several Hessian regiments, the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Light Dragoons, the field-guns of the Germans, and some guns taken from either the " E," " I," 6th or 9th batteries. of the Royal Artillery

GLOVER'S ROCK.
(

Where

the conflict began.")

few miles north.

and the

Here, at

dawn, began lhe landing

of the

troops,

conflict

with which

we

are concerned soon

followed.

John

Glover,
his

commanding
name, and also

the

Massachusetts

regiment

known by

as the

"fishermen's" or the
a part in

"amphibious" regiment, which played so important

the retreat from

Long

Island,

was then

at the

head of a brigade

of four skeleton regiments,

all

of Massachusetts.
14th; Joseph Read's,

They were
Shepard's
the 26th.
(late

his

own, the

the 13th;

Learned's), the 3d; and

Loammi

Baldwin's,
fifty

The whole comprised only seven hundred and

list

have not been able to find a complete

of the British regiments, but

it

is

certain the Fourth

and Sixteenth Foot

(or their

companies as mentioned above)

were

there.

The estimates made by American writers vary very widely, some putting the number as high as sixteen thousand: which is manifestly impossible. have
I

followed Dawson,

who

says four thousand

surely

odds enough to

enlist

our

admiration for Glover's brigade.

As Glover does not mention any cavalry among the enemy,

the dragoons fought dismounted.

it is

probable that

Eelking does not give any

Stirn's brigade

full

list

of the Hessians present, but says:

"Von

was brought up."

This consisted of four regiments: the Guards,

Col.

Von Wurmb, the Prince Charles, Col. Schreiber, the Von Ditfurth, Col. Von Bose (the regiment afterwards distinguished at the battle of Guilford Court House) the Von Trumbach, Col. Von Bischoffshausen, and the Third Grenadier Battalion, Col. Von Minnigerode. The first four had 633 men each, the Grenadiers 500 so the Hessians alone

comprised 3,000 men.

son's 4,000.
tion them).
It is

At

this rate the

whole

force

would be more than Daw-

(He says the Chasseurs were present, but Eelking does not men-

a coincidence that a squad or the 16th Dragoons captured General Lee at

J.,

Basking Ridge, N.

almost exactly a year

later.

He was then

considered so
the regiment

important a capture that Major Harcourt was promoted to

command

on account of his daring venture.

men, 1

and had encamped the previous night

in

Thursday
later, to

somewhere 2
It is

the

town

of East Chester.

to a letter of Glover's, written a

few days

an

unnamed
its

friend in

New

Hampshire, that history owes most of

to have so

knowledge of the Battle of Pelham, destined

important a bearing on the immediate future of the patriot

army.
vision,

The brigade was

part of General

James Clinton's
Point,
at

di-

and was the only force near

Pell's

which

place General Heath had foreseen the need of a guard, and to

which
It

effect

he had notified General Nixon.

early that

was very

morning when the

vigilant Colonel,

acting as Brigadier in Clinton's absence,

was astir.

He

writes:

"

went on the

hill

with

my

glass,

and discovered a number

(small) boats, up-

of ships in the

Sound under way (and) the

all

wards

of

two hundred,

manned

(filled

with troops)."

At this time General Charles Lee was the next in rank to Washington, and the successful defense of Charleston the previous June
really

was popularly

attributed to his exertions (although

owing

chiefly to Moultrie

and Rutledge).

Hence Glover

3 naturally at once sent Major Lee, of his regiment, to report to

1

On

October sth the returns showed:

Glover's,
-

170 privates

tit

for duty.

Read's,

220
-

Shepard's, Baldwin's,

204 214

" "
"

"

"

"
'

"
"

"
"

"

Total,

in his

843
Diary, Vol. VI, says:

2 President

Stiles

of Yale College,

22d October,

Camp
Friday morning, the 18th,

at Mile

Square, East Chester.

we were
in

alarmed, and the

enemy landed

at

Rod-

man's Point

(a

place about four miles from our encampment).

3 William R. Lee was born

Manchester, Mass.,

1744, and

died in Salem, October 24, 1824.

him

for orders.

But although only three miles distant, 1 he

the scene of action, nor
for the
is it

came no nearer
letter fervently

apparent that he

gave the Major any orders

anxious Brigadier, whose

exclaims: "I would have given a thousand

worlds to have had General Lee, or some other experienced

officer, present, to direct or at least

approve."
Lee would probably
of action, diminu-

But

it

proved

a blessing in disguise:

have ordered

a retreat

Glover was

man

tive as to stature but great as to

energy; and now, suddenly

thrown on

his

own

resources, he

showed

that he could act

promptly, vigorously, and, as the result proved, wisely.

His

seven hundred and

face

fifty,

with three small cannon, were to

Howe's

four thousand, and to acquit themselves with

credit. 2

He

naively adds that "it

for orders (for)

was very lucky" he

acted

without waiting

" the enemy had stole a march

one and

a half miles

on us."
British landing-place,

That distance from the

their

as

shown on

map, 3 would be about where the City Island road comes

into the

"Shore Road."

Glover.
Pell's

2 The resistance at

Point

was

characterized

by

a persistency of purpose
his

and

stubbornness of hand-to-hand fighting which kept

practically intact.

(Washington's) main

army
3

Carrington (Washington the Soldier,

p. 91).
is

The map on which

its

the others of that period have been based,

I

by the

British engineer Sauthier.

have used

it

in part for

making

my own,

but have

corrected
limits of

errors,

such as placing the scene of battle further north, within the

New

Rochelle, not Pelham.

in

He

has

as to be

open to correction
side

this instance.

Hudson River
errors,

he put Yonkers several

it

made so many errors in other parts Dawson points out that on the miles too far north, and made other
is

which make

evident that he similarly misplaced the spot with which

correct location of the scene of battle

we

are concerned.

The

determinable by

two widely

separated points: the bridge over the Hutchinson River, and "Glover's

As Glover's Rock

is

just a mile

from the end of

Pell's Point,

either the Colonel miscalculated the distance or the British re-

treated half a mile on meeting his force.

The former

is

the

more

likely; exact

calculation

is

the forte of but

few men,

especially

when going
as " Glover's
Pell's

into battle.

The great
is

glacial boulder,

about twelve

feet high,

which

known

Rock," stands on the south side of the

The
bridge).
first is

Rock," on the
then
exist,

Point road.

not hard to identify, as

it

was then
did not
in

the only bridge over the stream (for the modern "Boston Post

Road"
in

and hence had no

a run of

The

allusion of Colonel

Clover

his

letter, to

"

water" and

to the bridge planks taken

up

the morning,

further identify the spot, as does President Stiles' reference to

"a causeway."

low now, and might a 1770, when the volume of water in the little river was certainly greater than now, and a causeway would have been almost essentia! to keep the road above water, particularly during high tides. There is no other stream which Glover could have crossed on his way to the head of Pell's Point; and had he been so far to the north as Sauthier indicates, the enemy would hardly have come in contact with him. Well-attested tiadition identifies "Glover's Rock," as do also the cannonballs found there when the street-railroad was constructing. They were from either the British field-guns or the men-of-war in the Sound (two accounts menshort piece of road from
to the bridge
is

The

Wolfs Lane
in

very well have been

causeway

tion a
troops).

heavy

fire

being kept up by the ships during the debarkation of the

These two points being ascertained, it is easy to see the shortest route between them was the present " Split Rock road," over which Glover must have marched, and on which occurred the severest fighting. That the conflict was along the line of this road is certain also from Glover's
words: "
1

disposed of
left

my

little

party to the best of

italics are

my

judgment: Colonel

Read's on the

of the road."

(The

my

own).
hill" (this

There was no other road leading to

Pell's Point.

Of the

retreat

he says:

"We
as

retreated to the
it is

bottom of the
line

must

have been Wolfs Lane

hill,

directly

on the
I

of their retreat)

"and had

to pass through a run of water (the bridge

had taken up before) and then

I

marched up

a hill the opposite side

Stiles,

of the creek where

(had)

left

my

artillery."

and the creek can be no other than the Hutchinson. in his diary: "This battle was fought near the Boston Post Road, on the S. E. side of the road toward their (the
This agrees with
Colonel Baldwin also specifically says
British)

shipping."

road from Bartow Station of the

Island,

New Haven

railroad to City

about three-eighths of a mile from the station.

is

At

this

point or just east, the land

so low that a high tide will

to the north,

come
the

up

to the
is

roadway.

The water

shown

in

view,

We

known as Le Roy Bay. may pause here for a moment

tract

to

more
force

particularly de-

scribe the

of country with

which we

are concerned.

Mile Square, at or near

before the battle,
is

which Glover's

camped

the night
is

too far west to appear on our map, but

on

a line directly

west of Grove Street and Bridge

the
hills

Street,

Mount Vernon, on
City of

west of the Bronx and the present

in 1776.

Mount Vernon, which was non-existent

is
is

The

eastern boundary of the city

at the old

the Hutchinson River, which,

Boston Post Road,

shall hear

spanned by

a little

bridge 1 of
side,

which we
in

more, and Wolf's Lane, on the other

hill

the

town

of Pelham, climbs a

to the crest at

Pelham

Manor Heights.
a

On
its

the other side of the

is

modern Post Road,

an elevation

short distance southeast,

for

winding and picturesque road

is

which

almost

whole length

at quite

above the Hutchinson, 2 and from which the valley and the
1 Three regiments were ordered to pass a causeway (the only passage) and march to oppose them, and our regiment (Glover's) with three pieces of artillery,* was posted on an eminence overlooking the causeway, to secure a retreat for the Stiles. others and prevent the enemy from advancing. Glover says: "The ground being rough and much broken, was afraid to risk it over."
I

Evidently he had no horses to draw the guns.

2 This winding stream, partly tide-water, flows in a sinuous course, forming The name commemorates the the boundary between East Chester and Pelham.
celebrated Mrs.

1637, lived in
erecting a

Anne Hutchinson, who, after her expulsion from Massachusetts in Rhode Island until 1642, and then removed to this lonely spot, house near the stream and not far from "Split Rock." The Indians
the next year,

attacked

it

massacred

all

but one of the household, and she

solicited to erect a suitable

perished in the burning dwelling.

The

Colonial

Dames of New York have been

me-

morial on the spot

East Chester

hills

form an attractive landscape.

point
as

It

enters the

"Shore Road
page
and,
17,

" at the
is

shown
Rock

in

the illustration opposite

Hill road,

and

known
shown

Pelham Lane, the Prospect

more

generally, the Split

road, from the remarkable

natural curiosity

opposite page iq
force through
its

an enormous rock,
very centre.

riven

by some unknown

its

Only
is

a short distance south of

junction with the Shore

Road 1

the

City Island road from Bartow, which

we

have already
the

described.

The distance between Glover's Rock and

is

Hutchinson bridge
is

about three miles, and most of the land

within the limits of Pelham Bay Park of

New

York

City.

To
8,

return to Le

Roy Bay:

In

the illustration opposite page

are probably about
a

the figures in the

background 8

where
to his

the British advance appeared.

credit,
1

With

promptness much

Glover had at once sent forward a Captain 3 with his

present Shore

The

Road

did not exist in

Split

1770, unless as a mere union be-

tween the City Island road and the

over East Chester Bay, where
2 This region
contains
is

Rock road

nor
to

was
the

there

any bridge

now Pelham
features

Bridge.

many

of interest

antiquarian
to the
left,

and

ethnologist, as well as to the historian.

Under the great oaks

grinding corn.
is

near the

water,

is

an Indian burial-ground, and out of one of the great rocks has been
a cavity for

hollowed by the aborigines

To

the north, just across

Leroy Bay and almost opposite Glover's Rock,

family, succeeding that of the Pells,
estate from the Indian

the stone house of the Bartow

Pell

whose progenitor Thomas

Pell's

bought

his

sachem, whose daughter he afterwards married, about ioso.

From him the town of Pelham and the peninsula of

rive their names.

Neck

or Point de

The
Bay

estate passed to his

grandson John Bartow,

its

in

1790,

and only recently

as part of

passed out of the family, on

Park.

acquisition

by

New

York City

Pelham

have been

8 Although impossible to decide which Captain of Read's regiment, it must Peters, Pond or Warren, as one man from each of these companies

was killed. Andrew Peters was born in Medfield, Mass., January Oliver Pond was born in Wrentham, Mass. Samuel Warren was born in Mendon, Mass.

24,

1742,

and died

company
words).

of forty

men,

to hold the

enemy
to

in

check while the

(his

main body could be "disposed of

advantage"

own

On

over the roads described the three regiments

Glover's

hastened eastward.

Hutchinson

in reserve,

under

own regiment being left at the command of Captain Courtis. 1

This reduced the effective force of the brigade to less than six

hundred men.
Until recently these roads

had substantial stone walls" on

a

each side; but

stone afforded
purpose.

when
a

to be

macadamized

few years ago, the

for the

ready-to-hand material, and was used

Their disappearance robs the battle-ground of a

prominent and distinctive feature

chill of that

for

behind them,
six

in

the

October morning, 3 were ranged the

hundred

Massachusetts men. 4
1

William Courtis.

(At that time Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Johannot

was absent on

sick leave,

and Major

Lee,

it

will

be remembered, had been despatched to General Lee

officer).

hence Courtis was the ranking

He

afterwards became Major in Colonel

David Henley's regiment.

2 Howe,
walls"
in his

despatch to Lord George Germaine,

to me.
7
a.

calls

them "Bend-stone

term

unknown

3 The

first

shots were probably fired by

m.

Glover's

"very early"

is

indefinite,

but Hutchins' Almanack (published by

Hugh

Gaine) for 1776, gives

sunrise that

day

as at

b:%2 and sunset

at 5:28.

* Lossing says Glover's regiment

wore blue

cloth

round jackets and

Still

trousers, a

nautical dress appropriate to the

"amphibious regiment."

his description
15.

does not agree with Russell's uniform as shown on the statue, opposite page
It

should be remembered that few of Washington's soldiers were uniformed at

that time, and those that were,

were variously dressed.

he met at the battle of Long

Colonel
Island
:

Von Heeringen
at

(see post) says of those

" hardly one regiment was uniformed. "

The same

state of things existed

in Gates'

army

Saratoga a year

later.

Mr. F. D. Stone, librarian of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, said in an

While impossible
most advanced

to definitely fix the position held

by each
held the

regiment. Glover states clearly that Colonel Read's'

eastern position

on the

left

of the road.

Shepard's, 8 similarly situated,

address (189=;):

was on

the other side, and in

dressed alike."
still

"At Brandywine no two were

Just before the

same
It

battle, Lafayette said the troops

were " ill-armed and

worse clad."

since

must be said, however, that then a year's hard campaigning had passed 776, and this might account for the poor clothing.
1

'Joseph Read was born

His regiment ing a flag.

in

Uxbridge, Mass., March

6,

1711.

Thirteenth

Massachusetts

is

the only one mentioned as carryp.

Force {^Archives, Series V, Vol.

II,

244) says
officers in

its

ground was
his breast,

light

buff, device a pine-tree

and Indian com, and two

the regimental uniin

form.

One

of them, with blood streaming from a

wound

points

to a group of children undei the tree.

What

the " regimental uniform "

in

The motto was: For Posterity was can only be conjectured.

1

I bleed.

"William Shepard was born

there

Westfield, Mass.,

November
!,

10, 1817.

the expeditions against Canada.

He was a He

December 1, 737, and died veteran of the French and Indian war and

again entered the

army

in

177';,

as lieu-

two

.ivies to his credit.

and served through the war, when he had the record of twenty(He is said by one writer to have commanded at Fort

Henry now Wheeling, W. Va. when Elizabeth Zane performed the cannot satisfactorily determine this). elebrated, but which made lie
I

exploit

In

1787 he was again in active service,

commanding

the troops which dis-

persed the insurgent force under Shays, and thus ended ''Shays' Rebellion," at
Springfield, Mass.

During
them.

his
in

long
the

life

he was an honored citizen of Westfield,

of his

holding almost every office

gift

community: State Senator and

is

Congressman among

Lafayette gave him a sword, which

now owned
died poor

by
in

a descendant.
It is

sad to have to record that he

their patriotism.

was one

of the

many

patriots

who

consequence of

brave,
position.

General Shepard might well be taken

He appears
it

as a typical soldier of the Revolution

The rough life of a camp in the critical period earnest and God-fearing. between boyhood and manhood did not corrupt his morals, the savagery of
border warfare with the Indians did not affect the natural kindliness of his disto

have had

certain grim

humor of

the Cromwellian
after
J.

kind; and

may

be said of him indeed that he was a soldier

Cromwell's
M. Bugbee,

own

heart.

Memorials of the Mass. Society of the Cincinnati, by

'3

the rear (to the west), and Baldwin's 1 the

was

still

further west on

same

side of the road as Read's.

" the

At " Glover's Rock

unnamed Captain and

strength.

his forty

men
in-

tired the first shots as they faced the party of

advancing

vaders,

of about the
in

same

Having thus put

his

three

regiments

ambush,

Glover rode to the front and

ordered the advance guard to push forward

receiving the enemy's
fire

which they
though only
aimed,

did,
fifty

without
fire

loss,

yards distant.

Their return

was

better

and

brought
five
lie

down

four of the opponents.

At that short range

rounds are exchanged. 2

Two

of the Massachusetts

men

dead now, and several are wounded.

The

British are con-

siderably re-enforced, and to remain longer against such odds,

and exposed
patriots

to

what then and

to resist
is

for a

year afterwards the

were unable

bayonet charge
fall

madness.
1

The order

given to
Woburn,

back

would be "which was

174s,

Loanimi Baldwin was born

at

Mass., January 21,

and died

there October 20, 1807.

His services to the cause of the colonies began with

present at the battles of

Lexington, and he

was

Long

Island

and Trenton.
retire to

The
and

hardships of a soldier's

life

proved too great

his

for his constitution to support, in 1777,

hence he was obliged to resign

commission
his
life.

and

his native

town, where he spent the remainder of

part,

In civil affairs

he took an active

becoming
It is

Sheriff of Middlesex
civil

County, and a member of the Legislature.

engineers,
is

Two

of his sons were noted as

to Colonel
fruit,

and the family

is still

prominent

in

Woburn.

Baldwin that

due the discovery and propagation

irom an engraving by

of that valuable

the Baldwin apple.

The
I

portrait

of him, opposite page

his

16

is

Ritchie,

furnished

me by

grand-daughter, Mrs. C. R. Griffith of Woburn, from

his diary

whom

have also received

of 1770, from which

quote several extracts.

2 Draper, in his History of King's Mountain, says the time needed to load,

prime and aim the flint-lock musket was three minutes.

represent at least fifteen minutes.

Thus the
says:

Colonel

Von Heeringen
(the Hessians)

five rounds " Their riflemen

took

a quarter

of an hour to load, and

we

rapid firing" (at the battle of

p. jl.)

Long

Island).

overwhelmed them by (Eelking: The German Auxiliaries,

\
s

Jy^T? (yA^frn/ (&>

East Chester

hills

form an attractive landscape.

It

enters the

" Shore Road "

at the point

shown
Rock

in

the illustration opposite

Hill road,

page
and,

17,

and

is

known
shown

as

Pelham Lane, the Prospect

more

generally, the Split

road, from the remarkable

natural curiosity
riven

opposite page 19
force through
its

an enormous rock,
very centre.

by some unknown
south of

its

Only
is

a short distance

junction with the Shore

Road 1

the

City Island road from Bartow, which

we

have already

described.

The

distance
is

between Glover's Rock and the

Hutchinson bridge
is

about three miles, and most of the land

within the limits of Pelham Bay Park of

New

York

City.

To
8,

return to Le
in

Roy Bay:

In the illustration

opposite page

the figures

the background* are probably about

where
to his

the British advance appeared.

credit,
1

With

promptness much
a

Glover had
present Shore

at

once sent forward

did not exist in
Split
1

Captain 3 with his

mere union bethere any bridge

The

Road

776, unless as a

tween the City Island road and the

over East Chester Bay, where
8 This region contains
is

Rock road

nor

was

now Pelham
features

Bridge.

of interest to the antiquarian and Under the great oaks to the left, near the water, is an Indian burial-ground, and out of one of the great rocks has been hollowed by the aborigines a cavity for grinding corn. To the north, just across Leroy Bay and almost opposite Glover's Rock, is the stone house of the Bartow family, succeeding that of the Pells, whose progenitor Thomas Pell bought his estate from the Indian sachem, whose daughter he afterwards married, about io=;o. From him the town of Pelham and the peninsula of Pell's Neck or Point de
ethnologist, as well as to the historian.
rive their names.

many

The

estate passed to his

grandson John Bartow,

its

in

17QO,

and only recently

as part of

passed out of the family, on

acquisition

by

New

York City

Pelham

Bay Park.
have been
3 Although impossible to decide which Captain of Read's regiment, it must Peters, Pond or Warren, as one man from each of these companies

was killed. Andrew Peters was born in Medfield, Mass., January Oliver Pond was born in Wrentham, Mass. Samuel Warren was born in Mendon, Mass.

24, 1742,

and died

company
words).

of forty men, to hold the

enemy
to

in

check while the

(his

main body could be "disposed of

advantage"

own

On

over the roads described the three regiments

Glover's

hastened eastward.

Hutchinson

in reserve,

under

own regiment being' left at the command of Captain Courtis. 1

less

This reduced the effective force of the brigade to

than six

hundred men.
Until recently these roads had substantial stone walls" on

each side; but

stone afforded
purpose.

when
a

to be

macadamized

few years ago, the

for the

ready-to-hand material, and was used

Their disappearance robs the battle-ground of a

prominent and distinctive feature

chill

for

behind them,

in

the

of that October morning, 3 were ranged the six hundred

Massachusetts men. 4
1 William Courtis.

(At that time Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Johannot

was absent on

sick leave,

and Major

Lee,

it

will

be remembered, had been despatched to General Lee

officer).

hence Courtis was the ranking

He

afterwards became Major in Colonel

David Henley's regiment.

* Howe,
walls"
in his

despatch to Lord George Germaine,

calls

them "Bend-stone

a term unknown to me.

first

3 The

shots were probably fired by 7

a.

m.

Glover's

"very early"
for

is

indefinite, but Hutchins'

Almanack (published by Hugh Gaine)

and sunset
at 5:28.

1770, gives

sunrise that day as at o:-;2

* Lossing says Glover's regiment

wore blue

cloth

round jackets and

Still

trousers, a

nautical dress appropriate to the

"amphibious regiment."

his description
15.
at

does not agree with Russell's uniform as shown on the statue, opposite page
It

should be remembered that few of Washington's soldiers were uniformed

that time,

and those that were, were variously dressed.

Colonel
Island:

Von Heeringen
at

(see post) says of those

he met at the battle of Long

"hardly one regiment was uniformed."

The same

state of things existed

in Gates'

army

Saratoga a year

later.

Mr. F. D. Stone, librarian of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, said in an

While impossible
most advanced

to definitely fix the position held

by each
held the

regiment. Glover states clearly that Colonel Read's 1

eastern position

on the

left

of the road.

Shepard's, 8 similarly situated,

address (189s):

was on

the other side, and in

same
It

battle, Lafayette said the troops

said,

" At Brandywine no two were dressed alike." Just before the were " ill-armed and still worse clad." however, that then
might account
in

must be

a year's

hard campaigning had passed

since 1776,

and

this

for the

poor clothing.
0,

'Joseph Read was born

His regiment ing a flag.

Uxbridge, Mass., March

is

1731.

Thirteenth Massachusetts

the only one mentioned as carryp.

Force (Archives, Series V, Vol.

11,

244) says

its

ground was

light

buff, device a pine-tree

and Indian corn, and two

tree.

officers in the regimental uni-

form.

One

of them, with blood streaming from a

wound

in his breast,

points

to a group of children under the

What

the " regimental uniform "

The motto was: For Posterity was can only be conjectured.

I bleed.

was born in Westfield, Mass., December 1, 1737, and died He was a veteran of the French and Indian war and the expeditions against Canada. He again entered the army in 1775, as lieuthere

3 William Shepard

November

16, 1817.

tenant-colonel, and served through the war,

when he had
to

the record of twentyat

two

battles to his credit.

(He

is

said

by one writer

have commanded
determine
this).

Fort

Henry

now Wheeling,
c

W.

Va.
I

when
cannot

Elizabeth Zane performed the exploit

satisfactorily

which made her

In

iebrated, but

1787 he was again in active service,

commanding

the troops which dis-

persed the insurgent force under Shays, and thus ended ''Shays' Rebellion," at
Springfield, Mass.

During

his
in

long
the

life

he

was an honored

citizen of Westfield,

holding almost every office

gift

of his community: State Senator and

is

Congressman among them.

Lafayette gave him a sword, which

now owned
died poor

by
in

a descendant.
It is

sad to have to record that he

their patriotism.

was one

of the

many

patriots

who

consequence of

brave,
position.

General Shepard might well be taken as a typical soldier of the Revolution

earnest

and God-fearing.

The rough

life

of a

camp

in

the

critical

period

between boyhood and manhood did not corrupt

his morals, the

savagery of

border warfare with the Indians did not affect the natural kindliness of his dis-

He appears
it

to

have had

certain grim

humor of

the Cromwellian
after

kind; and

may

be said of him indeed that he was a soldier

Cromwell's

own
1890.

heart.

Memorials of the Muss. Society of the Cincinnati, by). M. Buobee,

'3

the rear (to the west), and Baldwin's 1 the

was

still

further

west on

same
'

side of the road as Read's.

At

'

Glover's

Rock

"

the

unnamed Captain and

strength.

his forty

men
his

fired the first shots as

they faced the party of advancing in-

vaders,

of about the
in

same

Having thus put

three

regiments

ambush,

Glover rode to the front and

ordered the advance guard to push forward

receiving the enemy's
fire

which they
though only
aimed,

did,
fifty

without
fire

loss,

yards distant.

Their return

was

better

and

brought
five
lie

down

four of the opponents.

At that short range

rounds are exchanged. 3

Two

of the Massachusetts

men
con-

dead now, and several are wounded.

The

British are

siderably re-enforced, and to remain longer against such odds,

and exposed
patriots

to

what then and

to resist
is

for a

year afterwards the

were unable

bayonet charge
fall

madness.
1

The order

given to

back

would be "which was

174=;,

Loammi Baldwin was born

at

Wobum,

Mass., January 21,

and died

there October 20, 1807.

His services to the cause of the colonies began with

Lexington, and he was present at the battles of

hardships of a soldier's
life

Long

Island

and Trenton.
retire to

The
and
native

proved too great

his

for his constitution to support,

in 1777,

hence he was obliged to resign

commission
his
life.

and

his

town, where he spent the remainder of

part,

In civil affairs

he took an active

becoming
It is

Sheriff of Middlesex
civil

County, and a member of the Legislature.

engineers,
is

Two

of his sons were noted as

to Colonel
fruit,

and the family

is still

prominent

in

Woburn.

Baldwin that

due the discovery and propagation

irom an engraving

of that valuable

the Baldwin apple.

The
I

portrait

of him, opposite page

his

16

is

by

Ritchie,

furnished

me by

grand-daughter, Mrs. C. R. Griffith of Woburn, from

whom

have

also received his diary of 1770,

from which

quote several extracts.

* Draper, in his History of King's Mountain, says the time needed to load,

prime and aim the flint-lock musket was three minutes.

represent at least fifteen minutes.

Thus the
says:

Colonel

Von Heeringen
(the Hessians)

five rounds " Their riflemen

took

a quarter

of an hour to load, and

we

overwhelmed them by

rapid firing" (at the battle of

p. 31.)

Long

Island).

(Eelking: The

German

Auxiliaries,

'4

masterly well done,"

says Glover,

when

the

enemy were
Hill,

less

than a hundred

feet

away.

With

a cheer,

they advance con-

fident of an easy victory,

But as at Bunker
its

behind the

wall to the right

is

regiment biding

time:

man drew his watchful breath Slow taken 'tween the teeth, Trigger and eye and ear a-cock, Knit brow and hard-drawn lips.
Each

At about

thirty yards,

the solid column in

front offers a
level over the light

mark impossible

to miss.

Read's

two hundred

wall their motley array of heavy

"Tower"
rifles,

muskets,
a

fowling pieces and long squirrel

volley bursts forth,

and

tremendous

right in the face of the foe.

all

cloud of

smoke

hides

for

A heavy moment the moment when

the

Read and

his officers

listen

for

command which

shall

bring the disciplined ranks up to the wall, and over with a

rush, following the deadly bayonets

which won the day

at

Brooklyn.

But none

is

heard,

and

as

the

smoke

clears

away, the

enemy's dead and wounded are seen lying thick along the grass-grown road, while the column
itself
is

falling

back

towards 2 the main body, considerably

It is

in

the rear.

Bunker

Hill

over again, so

far,

and Read's men drop

back behind the wall, and wish

for breakfast
chill

for

they have
is

marched without
1

it,

and the

October

air

hungerand

Our men behaved

like soldiers,

conformed to the orders of

their officers,

retreated in grand order.

Stiles.
1

regiment, and
ran.
Stiles.

'The whole body of the many of them

6th were forced to return by the

(were) old troops.

fire

of a single
that

The 4th regiment was one

We galled
retreat
till

the

they were re-inforced.

enemy very much, brought them to a stand-still and Baldwin, MS. Journal.

finally to

Private

JOHN RUSSELL,
M4th
Mass.i.

of Glover's Regiment
(Portrait from life

Statue

on the Trenton Battle Monument.)

'

'5

provoking.

They have plenty of time

to wish, for an hour

and a
full

half passes ere the

enemy

re-appears.

Now

he has his

strength, at least four thousand

fire,

men, and seven cannon

cover his advance with a steady

impressive than harmful.

which happily

is

more
again

At

fifty

yards, Read's

men

pour their bullets into the close ranks.

volley
is

But this time the

not unexpected, and while

as

it

halts the

column,

it

is

promptly returned,

Glover says, "with showers of mus-

quetry and cannon-balls."

The
parties

British

commander 1

has not sent out any flanking

patriots

which might take the

retreat

unaware, as they did

on the

from Concord; and sheltered as they are Read's

fire steadily.

men

load and

For twenty minutes

at

least

the of

sharp, irregular rattle of "firing at will" and the

boom
off,

cannon continue,

until

seven rounds 3 have been exchanged.

pro-

Then
point
site

retreat

is

ordered, and the Thirteenth march

tected in

some degree by

the wall, until they have passed the

where Shepard's

the

Third

is

hidden on the oppoline

side of the road.

Here they again

the wall,

and

await their turn.

It may be that, as both enemy think his the only

attacks have been

met by Read, the

Certainly

force confronting them.

nothing else can explain the rashness with which they ad1

Howe
An

is

said to

have been present

in person. in

eye-witness,

whose

letter

was published

the

Freeman's Journal,

Portsmouth, N. H., and dated "Mile Square, Nov. 12," says:

" People

may

think

what they
I

please of the

'

regular

and

spirited

behaviour
I

of the British troops, but

that day

as great irregularity, almost, as in

was an eye-witness to the contrary. a militia; they would come out from
re-inforced with half their

saw
their

body and

fire

single guns.

Had we been
them."

number,

we

might have

totally defeated

''

^cfCcsci-<s-i-t^S'

i6

vance, cheering, unmindful that there are walls on either side

of them, and

maybe antagonists
it

as well.

By

this

time

cannot be

earlier

than ten o'clock, and the

road,
1

two
S.

forces

must be on the

Split

Rock

possibly near the

B.

old dwelling
Collins.

which

in 1848,
it

Bolton says,

was occupied by

Wherever

was

that Shepard's

two hundred
for

were posted there occurred the hottest

after delivering

fight of the day;

an effective volley
a

at short

range, and again

fire

halting the

enemy,

" long-continued and well-sustained

side." 2

was kept up on each

soldiers

The bull-dog

tenacity of British
also

and
here.
their

of the

German mercenaries 3
until

was
this

well
fire,

shown

Glover says the patriots kept up a constant

and held

ground

seventeen rounds had been

fired.

This shows over an hour's steady fighting.

During

"the

enemy's
so

line

was broken
a

several times, and once in particular

far that a soldier

of Shepard's leaped over the wall and took

a hat

and canteen from

Captain that lay dead on the ground

Still,

they had retreated from."*

the odds were too great to

warrant a longer stand,

1

much

less

an advance;
Lane, as
it

Glover thereThomas
is

The

original
(still

name was probably

Pell's

led to or near

Pell's
hill is

house

standing, though modernized).

The view from

the top of the

in

looking south over the valley of the Hutchinson.

East Chester

the

distance,

though not

visible.

8 Dawson.

SJust a month

later,

it

should be remembered, the same Hessians climbed the

steep bluff at Fort Washington, and steadily advancing, stormed the outer

works

and

finally

captured the garrison.

was Captain William Glanville Evelyn, of the 4th He was not killed, but mortally wounded, and died in New York November 6th. The body was buried in either the Lutheran He was descended from Cemetery on Broadway, or in Trinity Church yard.
officer

* Glover.

The

Regiment (" King's

Own ").

the celebrated John Evelyn, of the Diary and Sj'lva,

said,

and was, General Howe

"

a gallant officer."

'7

fore ordered the

two regiments

to

withdraw, and marching

west beyond where Baldwin's

turn,
port.

fresh

men were

awaiting their

behind

a wall,
is

they took their

It

final position as his

sup-

The spot
hill,

uncertain.

may have been

at the crest

of the

now

called

Pelham Manor Heights, where Wolf

Lane extends northwest to the old Boston Post Road.

ground, Glover says,
their artillery,
front.

The

"was much in their favor." So was which seems now to have come more to the
retreating, Colofor
a

While the Third and Thirteenth were

flanking

nel

Baldwin, apprehensive of

movement,

which

the locality
east,

was more
a

favorable than had been the case further

went on

reconnoissance with Ensign

too
far,

Wood 1

and

thirty

Wood, advancing and was wounded, but

men.
Twenty-sixth
at that
in its

found the enemy advancing,

rejoined the regiment safely.

The

turn meet the

enemy with

volley, but

moment

a retreat

was ordered by Colonel

it

Glover. *

The
hill.

illustration
3

shows Wolfs Lane where Hay house

descends the
they wheeled

Passing the Pell or

left

at its foot,

to the

on the old Post Road, and marching along the short

that

causeway which they had traversed

Hutchinson.
1

morning, crossed the

The

original bridge long

ago disappeared, as

Sylvanus Wood.

We

could do but

little

before

we

retreated.

Glover.
a

Our troops were

as calm

and steady

as

though expecting

shot at a flock of

pigeons, and not in the least daunted or confused.

When

the General (Glover)

gave orders to retreat, it was (obeyed) with the greatest reluctance imaginable, though with as much good order and regularity as ever they marched off a
Publick Parade.

Baldwin.
are frequently

Balls

and brass ornaments

found on the heights of Pelham.

soldier's belt
I

Near the residence of James Hay, Esq., part of a

marked

6th Regt.

was

discovered.

Bolton, Hist. Westchester Co., Vol.

is

(ist edition), p. 547.

(The Hay house

not the

the former Pell house near the Hutchinson

bridge.

It

is

Thomas

Pell

house

have

referred to, but a

much

later one).

i b 5 o

has done a second and more pretentious one on the

present

site

of the
floor-

commonplace

affair

shown

in

the view.

As the

ing had been taken up in the morning, the troops must have

had to get across as best they could, through deep, sticky mud.

Reaching the rocky heights beyond, they rejoined

their

comrades of Glover's

own

regiment,
little

who

covered their retreat

by an

artillery

duel across the

valley until nightfall, with-

out appreciable

damage

to either side.

General

Howe made
the high

no

effort to cross the stream,

his right

but

camped on
nearly to

ground opposite,

extending
fell

New

Rochelle, while the

weary

patriots

back

two

miles and

camped somewhere

in the present

Mount Ver-

non. 2

The next morning they

retreated to Mile Square, 3 just

west of the Bronx, and within the town of Yonkers.

As Glover's regiment had no part

in

the battle, and Bald-

win's but a slight one, the chief participants were Read's and
1

Colonel Glover

made such

resistance from behind stone fences, that this last

for re-inforcements.

command

(Howe's) went into camp "waiting

the Soldier, p. 12s).

Carrington:

(Washington

On
miles,

the

8th

we had two
eminence"

pretty smart skirmishes;

after

marching about three

we

halted to get cannon, provisions,

to his friend in

&c,
111.

brought forward.

Letter from
2.

"an

officer of

Edinburgh, dated White Plains, Nov.

Long Island

Hist. Society's Collections, Vol.

2 After fighting all day without victuals or drink, we lay all night, the heavens above us and the earth under us, which was all we had, having left all our baggage at the old encampment we left in the morning. Glover.
3

The was

position of Mile Square

it

is

generally wrongly

marked on the maps of the

period; most having

It

too

far

south.

really, as

Lossing says, about where the old Hunt's Bridge Station of

the Harlem Railroad

was

(1840), just west of

from Mount Vernon to Yonkers,

traverse part of
Dr.
Stiles'
it.
it).

Mount Vernon. (The present road which the electric railroad follows, would

date

(see

page

t>),

"

Camp

at

Mile Square,

East

Chester," also

identifies

10

Shepard's, about four hundred against ten times their

number

of better armed, better trained and better supplied troops,

having

artillery.

All

had shared

in

the victory of Brooklyn,

at

and though some were also of the detachment driven back

Harlem Heights

in

September, numbers were more evenly

matched then.

But the contrast between numbers and equipstriking than

ment was not more

two

sides.

Glover's report

between the losses on the shows only six privates* killed

and Colonel Shepard and twelve privates wounded (apparently

Ensign

Wood

did not report his

own wound).
his neck.

Shepard was

dangerously hurt, a bullet piercing

The enemy's

loss

was mostly among

the Hessians;

but as

their officers reported only to their superiors in

Germany, no

historian has been able to give exact figures.!

Of

the British

only three privates were killed

and twenty wounded, as

have mentioned before,
the First
judge from

were

also Captain Evelyn,

whom we

and Lieutenant Colonel Musgrave, 3

1

who commanded
I

The enemy must have lost at least two hundred men dead. what saw myself, and good information. Baldwin. *ln Read's regiment, Samuel Cole, of Capt. Pond's company;
I

Daniel Deland,

of Capt.

Wan en's;

Ezekiel

Fuller,

of Capt.

Peters'.

In

Shepard's

regiment,
all

Sergeant Charles Adams, Sergeant James Scott, private Thaddeus

Capt. Isaac Bolster's company.

Kemp,

of

(Several Hessian officers are buried

ill

the church-yard of St.

Paul's at

K.isl

The edifice dates from 1764. Chester (see the view opposite p. 22), 2 Lushington says they lost two light infantry officers (names not given) and
some men.
can
artillery,

He says the Grenadiers were exposed only to "which was ill-served." (Lord Harris was
least

the

fire

of the Ameri-

the senior captain of

the 5th Foot, and captain of the Grenadier company).

This shows that this regiment at

Hutchinson had been crossed, as

used.

it

took no part in the encounter until the was only then the American cannon were
regiment

It

was he who, with

House,

five
at

companies of

his

the 40th successfully

just a

Chew practically won

held the

the battle of

Germantown,

year

later,

and

the day for the British.

: 5 - o

5 5

> z J o

Battalion of the Light Infantry.

But

if

the Hessian loss cannot

be given with
tial

official detail,

it

can be reckoned with substan-

accuracy.
into the

For several* days, deserters from the

enemy

came
rately
their

American camp.

Each was questioned sepa-

and without the others' knowledge, and the sum of

testimony was that Howe's
to a
total loss

was from

eight

hundred

thousand

in

other words, a total equal to twice

the force of the patriots !f

As Dawson

justly observes,

"

it is

difficult to

believe that

four hundred Americans, familiar with the use of firearms,

sheltered by ample defences from

liberately

which they could

fire

de-

and with their guns rested on the tops, could have

fired volley after volley into a large

body of men, massed

in a

compacted column
flicted as

in a

narrow roadway, without having

this."

in-

extended damage as

The author

of a recent history of the

County has

ridiculed
Africa,

this estimate, but in

it is

view

ot

the present

war

in

South

easy to agree with Mr. Dawson.

At the

battle of

Colenso

the Boers, sheltered by their trenches, lost 38, and the British
1,350;

and the records of Spion Kop and Magersfontein

in his journal:

are

*Colonel Baldwin notes

this day,

"Oct. 19: The enemy lay pretty

still

only plundering the Point indiscriminately, shewing no more favor to

a Tory than a
are chiefly

Whig.

The country people

(neutrals).

are in great confusion, although they

Enemies and neuters

We

have been

until

very lately extill

ceeding careful of the property of the country people and farmers,

it

we found

was only saving it for our Enemies, and now the fields of corn and stacks of wheat serve for fodder for our horses, the pigs, poultry, &c, for change of diet for the soldiers; this is chiefly near the disputed ground" (the Neutral Ground fThe British loss at Bunker Hill was 1,054.
'

').

At Saratoga (the

first

day), soo.

At Germantown, 535.

So

Pell's

Point

was

greater than either the second

or third,

and within two

hundred of the

first.

"-

* c S *
L.

similar.

At the battle of
lost

New

Orleans (1815) Jackson's army,

behind breastworks,

but thirteen men, the British about

two thousand. The reason Glover was left to fight all day against such odds was undoubtedly Washington's belief that Howe was
merely feigning an attack
at Pell's Point,

while the

real attack

would be made
army, engaged
troops
in a line

at Morrisania.

Hence Glover's was the only

force confronting
in

what was

really the greater part of

Howe's
*

the bold attempt to

far

throw

several thousand
as

from the Sound as

to get

across the county

might be necessary

between the separate

in

parts of the

American army, and thus hem

and the two thousand
left in

the larger part

between

it

New

York with Percy.

Had

the

plan succeeded, defeat piecemeal

able fate of the patriot forces.

would have been the problos"s

The heavy
into

which
a

Howe
large

sustained probably led him to think

force in his front,

Washington had
camp, as

and so he went
(/'.

we

have seen,
rest

"awaiting re-enforcements"
of the Hessians).

e.

Knyphausen with the

Colonel

Baldwin's journal says:

Lee),

"The

Generals

(Washington and
2

were highly pleased with

our conduct, and have since returned us their thanks, as you

will
1

see by the orders."

object

The moral

effect

of the all-day

The

was

to cut the communications

all

Eastern colonies, and to enclose him on

side of

(New) York

Island.

between Washington and the his fastnesses on the north Lord Harris, (quoted in Lushington's " Life").
sides in

8 (Washington's congratulatory address):

The

Hurried situation of the Gen'l. the

from paying that attention to with him he

flatters
in

Head-Quarters, October 21, 1776. General Orders. two last days having prevented him Col. Glover and the officers and soldiers who were

the skirmish on Friday last their Merit

& Good

Behaviour deserved,

himself that his thanks tho' delayed will nevertheless be acceptable to

them

as they are offered with great sincerity

and

cordiality.

encounter on the
the delay

spirit of
it

Glover's brigade

was

excellent,

and

which

caused

Howe was

particularly valuable to
safely

Washington,

who

by the twenty-fifth had

all

reached

White

Plains with

his

troops, save

the garrison

which

had, unhappily, been

it

left

to garrison Fort

Washington, where
the sixteenth of

was eventually

to

fall

prey to

Howe on
is

November.

The Bibliography which

convenience.

have added

taken mainly from

Mr. Dawson's work, but has been re-arranged for the sake of
It

shows

that

most of the authorities

cited give

the battle but brief notice, while

I

some omit any mention

him
that

of

it.

am

confident

my
in

readers will agree with

"the
did

reader will find

the character and

number

of those

who

recognize the achievements of those brave men, on that day,

sufficient

evidence of the

great

importance

which those

achievements possessed, and the great influence which they

At the same time, he hopes that every other part of the Army will do their Duty with equal Bravery & Zeal whenever called upon, and neither Dangers nor
Difficulties

nor

Hardships

will

discourage
all

Soldiers

Liberty and while

we

are contending for

that

engaged in the Cause of Freemen hold dear & Valuable.

Lee's Orders:

Mile Square, October

Gen'l Lee Returns his wannest thanks to Col. Glover

19,

1770.

&

the Brigade under his

Command,
that he

not only for their gallant behaviour yesterday, but for their prudent,

cool, orderly
shall

&

Soldierlike

conduct

in all

respects

He

assures these brave

All

omit no opportunity of Shewing his Gratitude.

Hill, at
;

the

men Wounded
where

to be immediately sent to Valentine's

the second

Liberty Pole,

Surgeons should Repair to dress them

Fort Washington.

they are afterwards [to be] forwarded to

A month

before, General

George Clinton, writing to the

at

New
it

York Assembly,

and describing the encounter

in this small affair at this

Harlem Heights,

said:

"

consider our success

time almost equal to a victory;

has animated our

troops and gave

(sic)

Precisely similar

them new spirits." words might have been written about

Pell's Point.

ofC.

23
secured, both in America and Europe, both of which are our
sufficient

warrant for presentation of them to our readers

in as

complete and accurate a form as possible."

It is

fortunate that the battlefield

is

within the limits of Pel-

ham Bay
other

Park, and will therefore escape the fate of

some

fields,

which have been covered with buildings as popu-

lation advanced.

The Daughters

of the American Revolution

Y.),

(Bronx Chapter, Mount Vernon, N.

intend

placing a
to

suitably-inscribed bronze tablet on "Glover's

Rock"

com-

memorate the
thus the

event.

It is

to be

hoped

this will

be accom-

plished soon after this

work

shall

have been published, and

Pell's

name and

story of the Battle of

a durable
this

Point or
will be

Pelham be perpetuated by
seen by thousands, to

memento which
its

whom

book and

author alike

must

necessarily remain

unknown.

(1

had hoped
in

to give an adequate biographical notice of each of the officers

in investigation

mentioned

any way; hut the utmost care

are found.)

of state and local

records and correspondence with descendants has been fruitless in those cases

where blanks

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Adolphus, John

History of
II,

England, 2d Ed. (London 1840),

Vol.

380.
I,

Allen, Paul

Am. Revolution,
Loammi
1st Ed.,

511/12, Baltimore 1822.

Baldwin, Col.
Bolton, Rob't

MS. Journal.

History of Westchester Co.

Vol.
I,

153.

444.
245.

546/8.
695.
1776).

2d

"

"

"

73/4.

Clinton, Gen. George

(to

N. Y. Convention Oct. 21,

II.

See Force, Series V, Vol.

1167/8.
1

Force, Peter

Am.
Do.

Archives, Ser. V, Vol.11,

188/9 (same as

Glover, post.)

718
1

(casualties).

" "
Glover,
Col.

130 (good account).

174

(Newport

editorial).

John

Letter

{Freeman's Journal

and New
editorial.

Hampshire
Vol.
I,

Gazette), Portsmouth, Nov. 25, 1776,

I

No. 27 and

No. 24, Newport

II,

Gordon,

W.

Am.

Revolution (1801),

338/9.
I,

Hall, Captain

History Civil

War

in

America,

205 (1780).

Heath, General William

Memoirs, 1798 (and

new

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Jones, Thos.

23, 1776.

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Revolution,

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(Dublin

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Field

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Moore, Frank
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"
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Francois

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de

l'Amerique

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of

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291 79, .J

^f^J